I already typed this up once let's try it again 🥲
OKAY so right out of the gate we have this fucking title card (cropped);
the boys just. casually watching the sunset together. not romantic in the slightest no siree
one minute in and the boys have a) used silly codenames for each other (Blue Leader and Yellow Sky) and b) revealed that they practice and name fighting maneuvers b/c they're nerds (altho Speeding Swing Surprise is kinda lame ngl)
two minutes in and Tails' plane is going down and Sonic is desperately calling for him over their communicators and saying, "Tails, no!" so sadly 🥺
three minutes in and Sonic is pulling Tails out of the wreckage of his plane and pressing his ear to Tails' chest to make sure he's alive so like goddamn they're going thru it already
upon hearing Tails' heartbeat Sonic lets out the most relieved sigh (ROMANTIC AF) and smiles so softly and sadly down at his little fox friend that my entire body melted actually
"Keep restin', pal. I'll get you home. I promise that nothing like this will happen to you again."
We call this foreshadowing!
anyways Sonic picks Tails up and carries him home bridal style b/c of course he fucking does
look at him. he is filled with so much fucking guilt.
the next scene opens on some framed pictures of the boys and idk whose house they're in but it's SO cute that one of them put the time and effort into framing and hanging these up 😭
we see Tails waking up and a) he is (badly) bandaged therefore Sonic must have (badly) administered first aid to his little buddy and b) completely clean, which means Sonic carefully and painstakingly cleaned all of the ash and grease out of Tails' fur like a proper bf should 🥺
of fucking course Sonic's name is the first thing out of Tails' mouth 🙄 we get it already y'all gay
anyways the plot of this ep is basically that Sonic feels SO guilty about Tails getting hurt that he wants Tails to retire as his sidekick, but Tails ain't having none of that shit and refuses to back down
when Sonic is 'firing' Tails he keeps a hand on his back just like constantly touching him?? And then moves in for this hug
while murmuring "I-I'll see you soon, pal" with an obvious waver in his voice and it's very sad
also there's a split second where it looks like he's leaning in for a kiss instead of a hug but I couldn't get the screenshot so just trust me on this y'all
ANYWAYS Sonic holds sidekick try outs and ofc Tails applies but he does it while wearing a cloak over his face and disguising his voice b/c he's an absolute dork and I adore him 🧡
I grabbed this screenshot when he tries to dramatically reveal his identity to a very shocked Sonic
I think it speaks for itself honestly
more plot shit happens and then Tails' plane goes down a SECOND time, and you can like. fucking see the horror on Sonic's face and he puts on this extra boost of speed to try and get there in time except oh no Tails is stuck!
they manage to get free of the plane before it sinks and somewhere in between that and Sonic falling into the water I grabbed THIS little beauty
look at them. This looks like they're at some party and Tails was sitting on the sidelines being awkward and nervous and Sonic just asked him to dance. peak fucking romance take notes people
anyways Sonic goes down and Tails can't pull him out of the water (and yet manages it like two seconds later??? continuity idk her) and Sonic very valiantly tries to sacrifice himself by letting go of Tails so that Tails can get away
except once again Tails ain't having that shit and he gets pulled down into the water too and manages to pull both of them out (again, when two seconds ago he wasn't strong enough to lift them out. Idk why this is bugging me it's not important lmao)
they battle eggman and also hold hands <3
we come back to the title card with them sitting side by side on the beach and definitely not gazing romantically into each other's eyes and I'd show you guys but tumblr won't let me add any more pictures so just imagine it in ur minds okay I promise it's as gay as ur thinking
Overall Sontails Rating: 11/10 fucking phenomenal what a bombshell of an ep, what a way to start the fuckin' series